Trump Brushes Off Report That He Didn’t Pay Income Taxes For 2 Years

Doonbeg Golf Links sea defence plans. File photo dated 12/05/14 of US tycoon Donald Trump whose plans to build a 2.8km sea rock barrier in erosion-hit dunes beside his Doonbeg Golf Links course have been branded as n... Doonbeg Golf Links sea defence plans. File photo dated 12/05/14 of US tycoon Donald Trump whose plans to build a 2.8km sea rock barrier in erosion-hit dunes beside his Doonbeg Golf Links course have been branded as naive, monstrous and unsustainable. Issue date: Tuesday June 14, 2016. Mr Trump's plan is to build a 200,000 tonne sea defence or revetment on Doughmore beach on the edge of the links where severe winter storms have wiped out metres of beach in recent years. See PA story IRISH Trump. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire URN:26603612 MORE LESS
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Donald Trump did not pay any income tax, or paid very little income tax, in 1991 and 1993, according to documents obtained by Politico and published Friday.

The documents showed that Trump did not pay taxes due to losses on properties he owned, not due to any illegal activity.

“Welcome to the real estate business,” Trump told Politico in an emailed response to the documents.

During an economic downturn in the early 1990s, Trump made deals with creditors to forgive his debt, but his losses were big enough to cancel out any taxes he owed on forgiven debt, according to documents from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Control reviewed by Politico.

Trump so far has declined to release his tax returns, claiming that he cannot release them while he’s being audited by the IRS. It’s typical for presidential candidates to release their tax returns, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have noted that Trump is breaking that tradition.

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Notable Replies

  1. Everyone was losing money before Clinton took office…

  2. Why does he keep getting away with saying he can’t release his tax returns while he is being audited? There’s no law that says that.

  3. “Welcome to the real estate business.”

    That’s it? So you think there’s no problem if two years out of three, you are so incompetent you can’t earn even a single dollar when you’re in real estate?

    In MANHATTAN?

    Trump, you’re beyond pathetic.

  4. So. Not a billionaire. Check.

  5. Really? That is the lie too far?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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